{"product_id":"the-origins-of-the-worlds-mythologies-9780199812851","title":"The Origins of the World's Mythologies","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis remarkable book is the most ambitious work on mythology since that of the renowned Mircea Eliade  who all but single-handedly invented the modern study of myth and religion. Focusing on the oldest available texts  buttressed by data from archeology  comparative linguistics and human population genetics  Michael Witzel reconstructs a single original African source for our collective myths  dating back some 100 000 years. Identifying features shared by this \"Out of Africa\" mythology and its northern Eurasian offshoots  Witzel suggests that these common myths--recounted by the communities of the \"African Eve\"--are the earliest evidence of ancient spirituality. Moreover these common features  Witzel shows  survive today in all major religions. Witzels book is an intellectual hand grenade that will doubtless generate considerable excitement--and consternation--in the scholarly community. Indeed  everyone interested in mythology will want to grapple with Witzels extraordinary hypothesis about the spirituality of our common ancestors  and to understand what it tells us about our modern cultures and the way they are linked at the deepest level.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45666242887733,"sku":"ByrdShop_0199812853","price":119.08,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780199812851.jpg?v=1782424722","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-origins-of-the-worlds-mythologies-9780199812851","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}